time for a virtual stroll ...

It is a blissfully rain-soaking day here ... my prairie home is in a drought, so we welcome the rain here (but not the snowy mix in the evening forecast!) 

I am enjoying the play of finches, morning doves and robins darting under pine trees, descending en masse upon my feeders, the grey of the day enlivened by the splashes of color zipping across the landscape that is my backyard and the scope of my world this day.  I've made some decaf and am hunkering down for a visit ...

Today is my turn in a virtual blog walking tour ... picking up where my dear SouLodge sister Latisha (a.k.a. my fairy Herbmother - "A little bit fairy, a little bit witch. A whole lot alive") left off last week ...

1. What am I working on?
Work? Um ... right ... I am attempting to blur or soften the the boundaries between work and play.  

play as work, work as play

Having been told my innate building gesture is whirling dervish (chew on that for awhile!) I tend to have many pots simmering, boiling and foaming over on my virtual stove top.  Presently I am having fun recording new interviews with some of my favorite creatives to be included in my upcoming Gift of Practice online offering. (shameless plug here ... but one week left to enroll and receive early bird special of a mentoring session included in tuition) I love learning how others weave together their passions, their creative explorations with spirituality, family, relationships and daily life.  It is pure alchemy - the raw materials of life  transformed into creative and/or spiritual gold. 

Looking around my home space, I see  many other works in progress cluttering awaiting harvest: a pair of wrist warmers on the knitting needles (I'm not behind, but ahead of next year's cold snap!); a shrug that needs a knitted collar and some finishing (my least favorite aspect of knitting); some felt chicks ready to be birthed (from this tutorial);

the next lesson in Mindy Lacefield's Primitive Portraits class (oh my, besides the pure bliss of watching her paint, her southern accent just melts me!); the crafting of MY MYTH (inspired by Magic of Myth Course) which I feel is going to be a collaborative process of writing and painting with my girl (do I even have to say dragons will be involved?); and certainly some other scraps of rawhide tanning, sewing projects bobbing about the flotsam and jetsam of my life.  

Whirling dervish? Or plate-spinner?

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

Things that make me go hmm? 

I suppose if I could determine what genre I belong to,  then I might have an idea of what I was doing!  

You know, I've always loved crazy-quilts and I think that best describes my life, my work, my approach.  I don't think so much about my work as much as I go about living a life which involves piecing together all my interests, all my passions and joys into an ongoing narrative, into one massive crazy-quilt of experiences.  I am here for the journey, the process, the experiences of this moment and this moment and the work is a lovely memento of those experiences. 

I'm just me and my hope is that my work is uniquely me-ish; and I love that your work is you-ish because that makes the world a pretty fascinating and exciting place.

Guess that brings me back to hmm?  

3. Why do I write what I do?
If you've spent any time with me, you've probably figured out that writing is my way of processing. I write my way through chaos into clarity. Well, sometimes. Writing (or if we are together in person, then it would be talking) is the way I sift through the contents of my mind in an attempt to find meaning or understanding.  

But I also write to celebrate hard-earned truths, to honor our mutual vulnerabilities and challenges and to support others in turning within to discover they are the source of their greatest wisdom and miracles.  At the end of the day, we all want to know we are loved and understood.  So I write as a means of honoring myself, my experiences and to honor those I love.

4. How does my writing process work? 
I generally will have a question or thought flapping around my mind that I need to release through writing.  I will be in the shower or walking the dog or cleaning the house and realize there is this inner dialogue happening and I need to get it down or untangle it or follow it down the rabbit's hole.  I suppose curiosity is at the heart of why I write.  What is this all about?   The How looks a lot like a dog with a rawhide: I just hunker down and chew chew chew!

That concludes this portion of your tour :)  Next Monday the stroll continues with these three inspiring creatives:

Michelle GD is a photographer and writer playing with lens and verse.  She believes there is beauty in tiny moments and healing in image and word.  You can find her on michellegd.com.

Mel Leavey is a "writer, magic-keeper, fire-raiser." She has transformed her drafty garret into the inkblot kingdom (www.inkblotkingdoms.com) and our world is richer for it. She has saved and supported me in ways beyond the scope of a blog post ... let's just say I have a reoccurring payment to her karmic bank account and I take pleasure in wiring those funds!

Mandy Smith is the proprietress of Flora Phenomena. Mandy enjoys creating herbal remedies, playing with plants, and learning about the relationships between the natural world and the human species. Her blog posts are meant to empower the reader and reignite our sense of wonder of the world and nature. Her herbal products at Flora Phenomena (coming soon!) offer healing and nourishment for the mind, body, and spirit. You can find Mandy exploring her always sun-drenched world (or so it seems to me!)  on her current blog at the present moment.

I leave you in magical hands. 

Now ... Spring, where for art thou?!